Posted!

Join the Conversation

Comments

Welcome to our new and improved comments, which are for subscribers only.
This is a test to see whether we can improve the experience for you.
You do not need a Facebook profile to participate.

You will need to register before adding a comment.
Typed comments will be lost if you are not logged in.

Please be polite.
It's OK to disagree with someone's ideas, but personal attacks, insults, threats, hate speech, advocating violence and other violations can result in a ban.
If you see comments in violation of our community guidelines, please report them.

Catholic High edges St. Edmund

Bobby Ardoin, Special to the Daily World
Published 1:46 p.m. CT Oct. 15, 2016

The offensive alarm didn’t sound for St. Edmund until late on Thursday night and by that time Catholic High of Pointe Coupee had all the points needed for a District 5-1A victory.

St. Edmund scored twice during the second half, but even that scoring flurry was not enough to offset the Catholic High first quarter damage in a game played at Blue Jay Field in Eunice.

“I thought that we started slow. I really can’t find a reason for it. I thought that even for the rest of the game, not only at the beginning, that we just didn’t play very weill,” said St. Edmund football coach Andy Hargroder.

The 14-13 loss evened the St. Edmund record after two district games and dropped the Jays to 2-5 overall. Catholic High has the same record as St. Edmund, both overall and in district games.

Catholic High scored twice in the first seven minutes and after that the Hornets were held out of the end zone for the next three and a half quarters.

“I thought that we had a lot of missed assignments on defense during the first part of the game. When you play a team that runs the option, you always need to be where you are supposed to. I thought we had a lot of defensive breakdowns,” said Hargroder.

The 14-0 lead was sustained until the third quarter when St. Edmund running back Luke Doucet broke a 42-yard scoring run with nine minutes and 41 seconds left. The Jack Brown extra point attempt was accurate.

That touchdown drive consumed 64 yards and five plays.

Then with 4:40 remaining in the fourth, the Jays scored for the second time. Quarterback Peter Miller added the touchdown with a four-yard run, ending a drive that took 17 plays and 59 yards. The extra point kick was errant and the Hornets held on for the win.

Hargroder said his team began to play better in the second half.

“We got after them and told them that. I think defensively we adapted to that. Offfensively I thought our offensive line never did. I thought they really stunk up the place,” Hargroder said.

Catholic High finished the game with a rushing attack that provided 218 yards. All but one of the Hornets’ snaps came from the run game.

Andrew Grezaffi was the game’s leading rusher as he provided 106 yards on 14 carries for Catholic High. Other key ball carriers for the Hornets were Nick Carriere (9-78) and Colin Grezaffi (9-43).

St. Edmund featured an offense that operated in much the same manner. The Jays rushed 40 times for 154. The Jays’ passing game attempted 10 throws with three completions.

Doucet was the top runner for St. Edmund (11-74). Miller ran 17 times for 64 yards.

Catholic High devoured 5:51 of the first quarter with a 69-yard, 12-play, initial scoring drive. That effort ended when quarterback Nathan Carriere scored on a one-yard run (6:12). Carriere put Catholic High in front with the first of his two extra-point kicks.

Just a little over two minutes later, the Hornets added their last touchdown. Matthew Longloi ended the 45-yard, three-play drive with an eight-yard run.

The Hormets’ offense was hurt by lost possessions. Catholic High fumbled five times and lost four. The Jays also had some difficulty, with three fumbles, one of them recovered by CHPC.

St. Edmund’s offensive inefficiency was also reflected in the third down conversion rate. The Jays had 13 third down chances and were successful in converting two of those. It was a different story on fourth down as the Jays were successful on all four of their chances.

In contrast the Hornets were 5-of-10 on third down.

UP NEXT: St. Edmund hosts Westminster in a 5-1A game on Friday night. Catholic High travels to North Central on Friday.